best and worst season ever!
 

good-Called in three mature toms in 2 days
bad- all three spooked, putted, and left before I could pull the trigger.

Talk about a head scratcher. I am hunting borderline woods and cow pasture with mostly woods surrounding the area and I am in a corner where the turkeys pretty much wanted to be this season. They were nearby all day and evening within 200 or 300 yards and gobbling and responding.

The first bird I called in came in spitting and drumming I watched it through the brush, it walked past where I was sitting and I did was wait for it to clear the brambles so I could take a shot. When it cleared I had a DSD hen that should have been visible and he would have been at about 15 yards. As soon as he stepped out past the brush heard putt putt, he turnd and walked back behind the brush. I was sitting in my gobbler lounger, gun up, head down, waiting and never moved. This happened two more times in the next two days in just about the same spot within 50 to 100 yards of my first busted encounter. I was as still as I have been in the past when I have bagged birds but for some reason they knew something was up as soon as I was visible to them.

The only thought I have is that my gun is a fully black matte finish and when they got into somewhat of an open spot, they saw that and immediately spooked.

If anybody has any reason or experience with being busted while being "ready" please share. It was so much fun calling in birds these few days but not filling a tag is so darn depressing.

The hen decoy was most likely the problem. Very often there is just something about a decoy that scares a tom. Aso if you area is anything like it is here there is very litlle vegetation so you have to be extra careful about any movement at all.

I was in Michigan this week until Wed. I started off using the decoys but quickly learned that for some reason they were spooking the birds or just making them wary for some reason. On wed morning I went in with no decoy. As was said there is not much green up yet and the woods are very open. I was sitting in my lounger by a tree and had 2 hens walk right past me so close I could have grabbed them by the neck. After they left I started to call and had 3 toms come in gobbling at first then go quiet looking for the hen. I shot one at 35 yards and he had no idea I was there.

thanks grinder, that was a though I had as well, I just don't think I wanted to admit that my expensive decoy that I just bought was the reason why birds were getting jumpy. I thought about adding a jake but never did.

Sometimes they spook when they expect a verbal reply or movement from the hen decoy they see, but don't get the response they are expecting. Same as when they are looking for the hen making all the noise but don't see her anywhere when you don't have a decoy out.

Solution: Catch a real hen and tie her leg to a string and stake her in front of you (kidding).

I never have had luck w/ decoys in woods.. always spooks them... I only use a deek in a wide open field